what would you have done?

[ChrisF]

Any diver can call the dive at ANY time for ANY reason.

If you gave the thumbs up signal, and were insistent about it, then he was obligated to comply, get to the surface and sort it out. Heck, if you had just gone back up when you wanted to, the captain probably could have brought you back on board and re-dropped you, without too much fanfare. Embarassing (for the DM), but at least it would have saved the dive. That clearly would have been a lot safer than getting blown so far from the boat that it made you nervous.

I think what I would have done in that situation would depend on whether I felt the continuing the dive was unsafe or just inconvieniet. If I felt that continuing the dive would put me at unacceptable risk, then I'd have waved goodbye and headed for the surface. If not, then I'd have probably stuck with him like you did and have just been really pissed off when we got back to the surface.

The divermaster was a bonehead. I hope you gave him a thorough "out brief" to encourage him not to pull anything like that again in the future.

 

[sisterJ]

Personally,

I would not of entered the water without a known dive team member. When I get in the water I know what equipment I am carrying and what my buddy is carrying. ANd we both know where the equipment is kept on each other. There would have been 2 surface markers between us and at least 4 spools. We would of deployed 1 marker from depth as soon as we realised that we were in a CF situation and made a controlled ascent. Like someone else already mentioned throw out the thumb and fix it on the surface.

Regardless of how you second guess yourself and your judgement call, the facts speak for themselves. You made a decision and the 2 of you got out safely. That means you did alright. If I were you I would be looking at what I can learn from the incident and take the appropriate measures to insure that it does not happen agian. There is nothing down there worth dying for.

Never be fooled into thinking that the unknown diver you are with has thier sh*t together, because they have lots of gear or a certificate of some kind (in this case a Dm cert). Know the diver you are with or opt for a casual 20 to 30 reef dive and check each other out.

Do yourself a favour and find a group of divers to dive with. I believe there is a group that trains and dives regular out of Ft. Lauderdale. You might be able to get in touch with them through Brown's Southport Divers.

You obviously have the right thinking working for you. All you need now are some same minded individuals to dive with.

Take care
sJ

 

[cornfed]

I can't believe a DM, training or certified, wouldn't understand that getting the thumb isn't a question.

And a cinder block? What the hell kind of crap is that? Has anyone else heard of this?

Who was this so no one else makes the mistake of diving with them.

Cornfed

 

[Knavey]

sisterJ once bubbled...
. There would have been 2 surface markers between us and at least 4 spools. We would of deployed 1 marker from depth as soon as we realised that we were in a CF situation and made a controlled ascent.

Not sure what the marker is that you are referring to deploying from depth?

Can you give me a link to see what this is?

 

[lordoftheOrings]

i think you did a good thing but if it were me i would of left him solo if he ignored my ascent sign
but if i did do what you had done (which ill say again was a very good thing) upon entry to the boat i would of smacked him one and tell every one what he did then he would never make the same mistake again...............................its amazing that you got in the water though the cinder block cracked me up! lol

 

[Scubaroo]

Knavey once bubbled...


Not sure what the marker is that you are referring to deploying from depth?

Can you give me a link to see what this is?

basically a lift bag, either open or closed circuit, or a large safety sausage.

 

[Knavey]

Ok,

Wasn't sure if that was what he was referring to since it doesn't make sense to deploy them at depth. What good do they do if you do that?

 

[diverbrian]

sisterJ once bubbled...
I would not of entered the water without a known dive team member. When I get in the water I know what equipment I am carrying and what my buddy is carrying. ANd we both know where the equipment is kept on each other. There would have been 2 surface markers between us and at least 4 spools. We would of deployed 1 marker from depth as soon as we realised that we were in a CF situation and made a controlled ascent. Like someone else already mentioned throw out the thumb and fix it on the surface.

Never be fooled into thinking that the unknown diver you are with has thier sh*t together, because they have lots of gear or a certificate of some kind (in this case a Dm cert). Know the diver you are with or opt for a casual 20 to 30 reef dive and check each other out.

Do yourself a favour and find a group of divers to dive with. I believe there is a group that trains and dives regular out of Ft. Lauderdale. You might be able to get in touch with them through Brown's Southport Divers.

You obviously have the right thinking working for you. All you need now are some same minded individuals to dive with.

Some of us don't always have the option of have known people to dive with. That more than anything is why I pursued my Stress and Rescue and DiveCon certs. I am single and typically get the old "dive buddy left at the end of the line." Some of them are excellent divers and better than me, some, well...... let's just say that there are reasons for having DiveCon and Stress and Rescue training even if I don't tell that to the dive operator (which I don't). Yes, typically in that case, I have an easy dive planned to get used to each other. But "easy" can turn into a problem real quickly.

Reading the conditions of this situation (keep in mind that I am infamous for not calling a dive unless my buddy calls it), I would have thumbed this dive before it started. I really think that he was being graceful to justify the DM's lack of acknowledgement to the "thumb's up." The owner of my LDS would rightfully have a piece of my rear for doing that if I was in that DM's situation. Thumb's up means: Dive is Over, NO QUESTIONS ASKED , period...

I had a dive buddy tell me that he didn't want to go in for no particular reason. It didn't feel right to him. I respect him for that.

I would have probably done the exact same thing as the diver in this case. He did not endanger himself by staying with the DM. The diver had the correct gear for the situation and knew it. But two things kill my desire to dive: (1) overhead environments and (2) an uncertain situation like this dive operator was providing. I most likely wouldn't have been in that water. But, if I was, I couldn't do anything but to say that at least on diver had it together and we know which one that was.....

 

[ibnygator]

Knavey once bubbled...
Wasn't sure if that was what he was referring to since it doesn't make sense to deploy them at depth. What good do they do if you do that?

If you deploy a lift bag at depth, it marks your position so that you can be spotted from the surface before you ascend. This way the boat can track you while you make a safe ascent.

 

[sisterJ]

Knavey once bubbled...
Ok,

Wasn't sure if that was what he was referring to since it doesn't make sense to deploy them at depth. What good do they do if you do that?

http://www.fifthd.com/divestore/classes/video/sbag.htm

Sorry for not being clear with my first post. It does make sense to signal the boat as soon as things go wrong.
When you need the boat to chase you on a drift, you deploy a marker from 40 to 70 ft. The marker is attached to a spool. This provides two functions. 1. It keeps you and the surface marker togather. 2. It provides you with a visual referance for your ascent. It is a task which requires a certian degree of skill and bouyancy control. And is best to have the skill introduced to you by a qualified instructor.

In this case the divers where in an un-referenced from the boat; therefore the sooner the marker was deployed the sooner the boat could have spotted it. Generally, once a marker is deployed the boat is waiting right next to where the divers surface.

Hope I have made it a little clearer. If you have anymore questions I will do my best to answer or I will find someone else who can.

sJ